Thursday, Mar-Cheshvan 27, 5785 / November 28, 2024

This week's Parsha, Toldot, begins with the births of Esau and Yaakov to Yitzchak and Rivkah.  After twenty years of marriage, Yitzchak and Rivkah still had no children. They both prayed to G-d to be blessed with children.  G-d answered their prayers and Rivkah conceived.  

Rivkah's initial joy soon changed.  The Torah tells us, "And the children struggled within her."  Rivkah's reaction was, "If this is so, what did I need it for?"  The Torah tells us that, “She went to inquire of G-d,” to the prophet Shem for an explanation of this constant battle within her.

What was this struggle in her? Our sages explain: When Rivkah passed a house of idol worship, she felt the child pushing to go out. When she went by the Yeshiva (house of Torah study) of Shem and Ever, she had the same feeling. Rivkah didn't know at the time that she was carrying twins.  She couldn't accept the fact that her child would feel comfortable in the house of G-d and also in a house of idol worship, so she went to inquire. 

Shem told her:“Two nations are within your womb and two peoples shall be separated from you, one stronger than the other, and the elder one shall serve the younger one." 

She gave birth to twins. The older one was called Esau and the younger one was named Yaakov (Jacob). Esau became a hunter, while Yaakov, "dwelt in the tents" - studying Torah.

Q.  In the Parsha we read about the blessings which Yitzchak gave to Yaakov and later also to Esau.  To Yaakov he says, “May G-d give you of the dew of the heaven and of the fat of the earth."  However, when Yitzchak later blessed Esau, he reversed the order, saying, "Of the fat places of the earth shall be your dwelling and of the dew from heaven above."  Why did Yitzchak bless Yaakov with the dew from heaven first and then the fat of the earth, but to Esau he said it in reverse?

A.   “Heaven” and “earth” represent spiritual (heaven) and physical (earth). The blessing to Yaakov was in essence a blessing and guideline for the Jewish people who are descendants of Yaakov. Yitzchak blessed Yaakov that, “heavenly matters" should always come first. The performance of Mitzvot ("heaven") should be the goal and objective of a Jew's worldly success ("earth"). 

The holy Rabbi Meir of Premishlan, would take a shortcut, which took him up and down a hill, in order to get to the Mikvah (ritual bath).  He would take this shortcut even during the winter months when the mountain was icy.  Others who tried to do the same failed. They slid on the ice and were badly bruised. When asked how he walks up and down the hill on the slippery ice without falling? he replied, "When one is attached to Above, one doesn't fall down below!"

Yitzchak blessed Yaakov that heavenly matters (Torah and Mitzvot) be his guideline, even when dealing with worldly matters. Being connected to G-d is a safety net from the pitfalls earthly matters can cause.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY

UNITED WE STAND WITH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CAPTIVITY. MAY THEY ALL BE RELEASED NOW